Abbas advisor:"Israel is disturbed by the call to prayer because it reminds [Israel] five times a day that this land is Palestinian and a waqf that belongs only to the Muslims"

WAFA, official PA news agency
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Nov. 14, 2016

Headline: "Al-Habbash: The call to prayer will be sounded and our mosques are full of believers, despite the occupation's opposition"
"Supreme Shari’ah Judge and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs [and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice] Mahmoud Al-Habbash condemned the steps of the occupation with all its institutions – government, parliamentary, and security – against everything Islamic in the holy city [of Jerusalem], especially in everything regarding the decision of the committee of Israeli government ministers to bring the bill banning the sounding of the call to prayer in the mosques to what is called the 'Israeli Parliament' for ratification.

In a press statement this evening (Monday) [Nov. 14, 2016], Al-Habbash described these steps as steps of oppression and a harsh blow to the freedom of worship… He clarified that these steps will lead the occupation and its leaders to the International Criminal Court as war criminals, especially after the latest resolutions of UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), according to which the Jerusalem Noble Sanctuary (i.e., the Temple Mount) is Islamic and the Old City of Jerusalem is an exclusively Islamic heritage [site]. He added that Israel has gone crazy in the wake of UNESCO's latest resolutions…

Al-Habbash noted that Israel is trying to drag the region into a religious war without compromise, whose end is bad and bitter. This is after it lost the legal and historical battle over any right to the Old City and the Jerusalem Noble Sanctuary, with all its accompanying buildings, and primarily the western wall of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque – the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall).

The supreme shari’ah judge emphasized: 'Our mosques will remain full of believers, and no one in this world will be able to silence the call to prayer as long as there is one Palestinian on this land.' He noted: 'Our mosques precede the occupation state; it has never happened and will never happen that they will not sound the call to prayer.' Likewise, he clarified: 'Israel is disturbed by the call to prayer because it reminds [Israel] five times a day that this land is Palestinian and a waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law) that belongs only to the Muslims."

On Nov. 13, 2016, a bill to ban religious institutions from broadcasting over loudspeakers was approved for a preliminary reading in the Israeli Parliament. The bill is intended to prevent noise pollution. This bill is referred to by many as the "Muezzin Law," although it does not refer to any specific religion.
Other countries have already approved or attempted legislation for regulating the use of loudspeakers in mosques in order to limit noise pollution. These include India, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Bahrain, the United Emirates, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, the UK, Austria, Norway, and Belgium, and the US. The PA has also passed legislation regarding the use of loudspeakers in mosques in order to reduce noise pollution.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) passed a resolution in Paris on “Occupied Palestine” on Oct. 13, 2016, with 24 countries voting in favor, 6 against, and 24 abstentions. The resolution was later approved by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Oct. 26, 2016, in a secret ballot in which ten countries voted in favor of the resolution, two opposed, eight abstained, and one country, Jamaica, was absent.
In the resolution UNESCO refers to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, only as “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” and presents it only as a “Muslim holy site.” The resolution condemns “escalating Israeli aggressions” and Israeli “violations” at the site, and calls on Israel “to respect the integrity, authenticity and cultural heritage of Al-Aqṣa Mosque/Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif… as a Muslim holy site of worship.” The resolution likewise refers to the Western Wall Plaza as the “Al-Buraq Plaza ‘Western Wall Plaza,’” adding quotation marks to the Jewish name for the site.
The resolution was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.
The countries voting for the resolution were: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Vietnam.
Those voting against it were: Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, the UK, and the US.
Mexico later noted for the record that its position on the issue is one of abstention, although the vote count was unaffected.
Full text here: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002462/246215e.pdf